1UA TV

International reaction to joint U.S., French and British airstrikes Saturday against government targets in Syria ranged from support to intense criticism, depending largely on which countries the reaction came from.

The U.S. Department of Defense said the strikes targeted three sites believed to be linked to the production of chemical and biological weapons. The attacks were retaliation for suspected chemical attacks near Damascus last weekend that killed more than 40 people.

U.S. President Donald Trump commended Britain and France for the joint airstrikes.

“A perfectly executed strike last night,” Trump tweeted hours after the attack. “Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Saturday that Trump had informed her the United States was “locked and loaded,” ready to respond if Syria used chemical weapons again.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry said, however, it “condemns in the strongest terms the brutal American-British-French aggression against Syria, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.”

Hundreds of Syrians gathered Saturday around Damascus, honking car horns, flashing victory signs and waving Syrian flags in defiance of the joint military strikes. Some shouted, “We are your men, Bashar,” references to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attacks as an “act of aggression against a sovereign government” and accused the U.S. of exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Syria.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the airstrikes were a failure, maintaining the majority of the rockets fired had been intercepted by the Syrian government’s air defense systems.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the attacks constituted a criminal act and that U.S., France and Britain would not benefit from them.

“This morning’s attack on Syria is a crime,” Khamenei said on Twitter. “I firmly declare that the Presidents of U.S. and France and British PM committed a major crime. They will gain no benefit; just as they did not while in Iraq, Syria & Afghanistan, over the past years, committing the same criminal acts.”

China’s Foreign Ministry called Saturday for an independent investigation into the suspected chemical attacks and said a political solution was the only way to resolve the issue. Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had consistently opposed the use of force in international relations and that any military action that circumvented the U.N. Security Council violated the basic norms of international law.

But British Prime Minister Theresa May said there was “no practicable alternative to the use of force” against Syria.

“I judge this action to be in Britain’s national interest,” May said. “We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to be normalized within Syria, on the streets of the U.K., or anywhere else in the world. We would have preferred an alternative path but, on this occasion, there is none.”

In France, reaction has been mixed to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to participate in the attacks against the Syrian regime.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Saturday that the joint military action was justified, limited, proportionate and successful.

“A large part of his chemical arsenal has been destroyed,” Le Drian told France’s BFMTV in an interview, referring to the Syrian leader.

Far-left and far-right lawmakers sharply criticized France’s decision to join the United States in the strikes.

Conservative National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who lost the 2017 presidential race to Macron, warned via Twitter that France risked its status as an “independent power” and said the strikes could lead to “unforeseen and potentially dramatic consequences.”

Far-left politician Jean-Luc Melenchon also denounced France’s participation on Twitter, calling the strikes an “irresponsible escalation” that did not have European or French parliament support.

Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan expressed support for the airstrikes. European Council President Donald Tusk said the bloc “will stand with our allies on the side of justice.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the attacks by the U.S., Britain and France on Twitter as proof that “their commitment to combat chemical weapons is not limited to declarations alone.”

Netanyahu said in a written statement that the airstrikes should remind Assad that “his irresponsible efforts to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction, his blatant disregard for international law and his willingness to allow Iran and its affiliates to establish military bases in Syria endanger Syria.”

In Turkey, the airstrikes were also well-received.

“We welcome this operation which has eased humanity’s conscience in the face of the attack in Douma, largely suspected to have been carried out by the regime,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said. The ministry added that Syria “has a proven track record of crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said those who use chemical weapons “must be held accountable.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned all sides must comply with international law and not dismiss Moscow’s warning that airstrikes on its ally could lead to war.

“I urge all member states to show restraint in these dangerous circumstances and to avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and worsen the suffering of the Syrian people,” Guterres said in a statement.
…

International reaction to joint U.S., French and British airstrikes Saturday against government targets in Syria ranged from support to intense criticism, depending largely on which countries the reaction came from.

The U.S. Department of Defense said the strikes targeted three sites believed to be linked to the production of chemical and biological weapons. The attacks were retaliation for suspected chemical attacks near Damascus last weekend that killed more than 40 people.

U.S. President Donald Trump commended Britain and France for the joint airstrikes.

“A perfectly executed strike last night,” Trump tweeted hours after the attack. “Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Saturday that Trump had informed her the United States was “locked and loaded,” ready to respond if Syria used chemical weapons again.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry said, however, it “condemns in the strongest terms the brutal American-British-French aggression against Syria, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.”

Hundreds of Syrians gathered Saturday around Damascus, honking car horns, flashing victory signs and waving Syrian flags in defiance of the joint military strikes. Some shouted, “We are your men, Bashar,” references to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attacks as an “act of aggression against a sovereign government” and accused the U.S. of exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Syria.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the airstrikes were a failure, maintaining the majority of the rockets fired had been intercepted by the Syrian government’s air defense systems.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the attacks constituted a criminal act and that U.S., France and Britain would not benefit from them.

“This morning’s attack on Syria is a crime,” Khamenei said on Twitter. “I firmly declare that the Presidents of U.S. and France and British PM committed a major crime. They will gain no benefit; just as they did not while in Iraq, Syria & Afghanistan, over the past years, committing the same criminal acts.”

China’s Foreign Ministry called Saturday for an independent investigation into the suspected chemical attacks and said a political solution was the only way to resolve the issue. Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had consistently opposed the use of force in international relations and that any military action that circumvented the U.N. Security Council violated the basic norms of international law.

But British Prime Minister Theresa May said there was “no practicable alternative to the use of force” against Syria.

“I judge this action to be in Britain’s national interest,” May said. “We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to be normalized within Syria, on the streets of the U.K., or anywhere else in the world. We would have preferred an alternative path but, on this occasion, there is none.”

In France, reaction has been mixed to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to participate in the attacks against the Syrian regime.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Saturday that the joint military action was justified, limited, proportionate and successful.

“A large part of his chemical arsenal has been destroyed,” Le Drian told France’s BFMTV in an interview, referring to the Syrian leader.

Far-left and far-right lawmakers sharply criticized France’s decision to join the United States in the strikes.

Conservative National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who lost the 2017 presidential race to Macron, warned via Twitter that France risked its status as an “independent power” and said the strikes could lead to “unforeseen and potentially dramatic consequences.”

Far-left politician Jean-Luc Melenchon also denounced France’s participation on Twitter, calling the strikes an “irresponsible escalation” that did not have European or French parliament support.

Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan expressed support for the airstrikes. European Council President Donald Tusk said the bloc “will stand with our allies on the side of justice.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the attacks by the U.S., Britain and France on Twitter as proof that “their commitment to combat chemical weapons is not limited to declarations alone.”

Netanyahu said in a written statement that the airstrikes should remind Assad that “his irresponsible efforts to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction, his blatant disregard for international law and his willingness to allow Iran and its affiliates to establish military bases in Syria endanger Syria.”

In Turkey, the airstrikes were also well-received.

“We welcome this operation which has eased humanity’s conscience in the face of the attack in Douma, largely suspected to have been carried out by the regime,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said. The ministry added that Syria “has a proven track record of crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said those who use chemical weapons “must be held accountable.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned all sides must comply with international law and not dismiss Moscow’s warning that airstrikes on its ally could lead to war.

“I urge all member states to show restraint in these dangerous circumstances and to avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and worsen the suffering of the Syrian people,” Guterres said in a statement.
…

Russia’s foreign minister says Moscow has received a document from a Swiss lab that analyzed the samples in the nerve agent poisoning of an ex-Russian spy, which points at a Western-designed nerve agent as a likely cause.

Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that Moscow received the confidential information from the laboratory in Spiez, Switzerland, that analyzed samples from the site of the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury.

He said the analysis was done at the request of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The OPCW’s report confirmed British findings that the Skripals were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, but didn’t say who was responsible.

Britain has accused Russia of poisoning them with a Soviet-designed agent, an accusation that Moscow denies.

Lavrov said the document indicated that the samples from Salisbury contained BZ nerve agent and its precursor. He said BZ was part of chemical arsenals of the U.S., Britain and other NATO countries, while the Soviet Union and Russia never developed the agent.

Lavrov added that the Swiss lab also pointed at the presence of the nerve agent A234 in the samples, but added that the lab noted that its presence in the samples appeared strange, given the substance’s high volatility and the relatively long period between the poisoning and the sample-taking.

He noted that OPCW’s report didn’t contain any mention of BZ, adding that Russia will ask the chemical weapons watchdog for an explanation.

Britain said that the A234 agent belonged to the family of Soviet-designed nerve agents dubbed Novichok.

Yulia Skripal, 33, was released from the hospital this week. Her father remains hospitalized but British health officials say he is improving.
…

Russia’s foreign minister says Moscow has received a document from a Swiss lab that analyzed the samples in the nerve agent poisoning of an ex-Russian spy, which points at a Western-designed nerve agent as a likely cause.

Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that Moscow received the confidential information from the laboratory in Spiez, Switzerland, that analyzed samples from the site of the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury.

He said the analysis was done at the request of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The OPCW’s report confirmed British findings that the Skripals were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, but didn’t say who was responsible.

Britain has accused Russia of poisoning them with a Soviet-designed agent, an accusation that Moscow denies.

Lavrov said the document indicated that the samples from Salisbury contained BZ nerve agent and its precursor. He said BZ was part of chemical arsenals of the U.S., Britain and other NATO countries, while the Soviet Union and Russia never developed the agent.

Lavrov added that the Swiss lab also pointed at the presence of the nerve agent A234 in the samples, but added that the lab noted that its presence in the samples appeared strange, given the substance’s high volatility and the relatively long period between the poisoning and the sample-taking.

He noted that OPCW’s report didn’t contain any mention of BZ, adding that Russia will ask the chemical weapons watchdog for an explanation.

Britain said that the A234 agent belonged to the family of Soviet-designed nerve agents dubbed Novichok.

Yulia Skripal, 33, was released from the hospital this week. Her father remains hospitalized but British health officials say he is improving.
…

On Syrian state TV, President Bashar al-Assad strolls into his office carrying a briefcase around 9 a.m. Saturday, only hours after Western missiles rained down on suspected chemical weapons sites in Damascus and Homs.

They labeled the video on Twitter, “a morning of steadfastness.” 

But with the Middle East once again skirting the brink of an all out war between world powers, the region is anything but unwavering, with mounting fears that the attacks could cause dangerous ripple effects.

Analysts are urging restraint, saying the consequences of escalation could be disastrous.

“A large part of the reason that Syria is in ruins today is because nearly all actors have pursued military solutions instead of diplomacy aimed at halting the bloodshed,” said Reza Marashi, the research director at the National Iranian American Council.  “An eye for an eye approach will not bring justice or peace to Syria.”  

The U.S., Great Britain and France launched the assault in response to alleged chemical attacks against civilians in Syria that killed dozens of people on April 7.  

The U.S. said strikes could continue if the Syrian government continues to use chemical weapons, “they will be held accountable.”  

Russia — allied with Assad and Iran in Syria — responded by condemning the attacks, but did not repeat threats of retaliation made earlier this week. 

“The current escalation around Syria is destructive for the entire system of international relations,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin in a statement.  He also called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the “aggressive actions.”

Outrage and Glee

With nearly every country in the Middle East having a stake in the Syrian conflict, governments across the region are formulating responses to the attack, with some seeing it as a victory for human rights, and others as a war crime.

Saudi Arabia supported the attack wholeheartedly, as it considers Assad a proxy for Iran, its main rival in the region.  A Saudi official told Gulf News that the strikes “came as a response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians, including women and children.”

Iran roundly condemned the attack, calling it a crime.  “The aggression is a flagrant violation of international law and a disregard of Syria’s right to national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” reads a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The Iran-backed Lebanese military, Hezbollah, which is fighting rebels and other groups with Assad in Syria,released some of the most vehement condemnation of the attacks.  The strikes “represent direct and forthright support to terrorist and criminal gangs” reads a statement on al-Manar, a Hezbollah media company.  The statement also said the Western strikes were related to aggression from Israel, Hezbollah’s main enemy.

This once again put Israel on the same side as Saudi Arabia, as Iran and Israel continue to trade accusations and cross border attacks.  One Israeli official said on Twitter early Saturday that the strikes sent an “important signal… that using chemical weapons crosses a red line.”  

Caution

But other Middle East leaders are reacting with more caution, with making careful statements and calling for calm.  

Egypt both expressed concern for the escalation and reaffirmed its condemnation of the chemical attacks.  The United Nations says it has confirmed at least 34 chemical attacks in Syria since 2013.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry released a statement calling the attack “a very dangerous development” and saying further destabilization in Syria could increase terrorism in the region.  Iraq’s military is both heavily supported by the U.S. and its Western allies, and by Iran, allied with Russia and the Syrian government led by Assad.  Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he plans to “keep away” from the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Turkey released a statement in support of the strikes, and has offered to mediate between the two sides squaring off on Syria, being allied with both NATO and Russia.  Turkish officials have said the attacks were “appropriate” and that they were given advance warning, according to the Reuters news agency.

Arab leaders are meeting in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, and Syria is among the topics they are planning to discuss.  Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a virtual victory lap, tweeting, “Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”
…

On Syrian state TV, President Bashar al-Assad strolls into his office carrying a briefcase around 9 a.m. Saturday, only hours after Western missiles rained down on suspected chemical weapons sites in Damascus and Homs.

They labeled the video on Twitter, “a morning of steadfastness.” 

But with the Middle East once again skirting the brink of an all out war between world powers, the region is anything but unwavering, with mounting fears that the attacks could cause dangerous ripple effects.

Analysts are urging restraint, saying the consequences of escalation could be disastrous.

“A large part of the reason that Syria is in ruins today is because nearly all actors have pursued military solutions instead of diplomacy aimed at halting the bloodshed,” said Reza Marashi, the research director at the National Iranian American Council.  “An eye for an eye approach will not bring justice or peace to Syria.”  

The U.S., Great Britain and France launched the assault in response to alleged chemical attacks against civilians in Syria that killed dozens of people on April 7.  

The U.S. said strikes could continue if the Syrian government continues to use chemical weapons, “they will be held accountable.”  

Russia — allied with Assad and Iran in Syria — responded by condemning the attacks, but did not repeat threats of retaliation made earlier this week. 

“The current escalation around Syria is destructive for the entire system of international relations,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin in a statement.  He also called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the “aggressive actions.”

Outrage and Glee

With nearly every country in the Middle East having a stake in the Syrian conflict, governments across the region are formulating responses to the attack, with some seeing it as a victory for human rights, and others as a war crime.

Saudi Arabia supported the attack wholeheartedly, as it considers Assad a proxy for Iran, its main rival in the region.  A Saudi official told Gulf News that the strikes “came as a response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians, including women and children.”

Iran roundly condemned the attack, calling it a crime.  “The aggression is a flagrant violation of international law and a disregard of Syria’s right to national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” reads a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The Iran-backed Lebanese military, Hezbollah, which is fighting rebels and other groups with Assad in Syria,released some of the most vehement condemnation of the attacks.  The strikes “represent direct and forthright support to terrorist and criminal gangs” reads a statement on al-Manar, a Hezbollah media company.  The statement also said the Western strikes were related to aggression from Israel, Hezbollah’s main enemy.

This once again put Israel on the same side as Saudi Arabia, as Iran and Israel continue to trade accusations and cross border attacks.  One Israeli official said on Twitter early Saturday that the strikes sent an “important signal… that using chemical weapons crosses a red line.”  

Caution

But other Middle East leaders are reacting with more caution, with making careful statements and calling for calm.  

Egypt both expressed concern for the escalation and reaffirmed its condemnation of the chemical attacks.  The United Nations says it has confirmed at least 34 chemical attacks in Syria since 2013.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry released a statement calling the attack “a very dangerous development” and saying further destabilization in Syria could increase terrorism in the region.  Iraq’s military is both heavily supported by the U.S. and its Western allies, and by Iran, allied with Russia and the Syrian government led by Assad.  Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he plans to “keep away” from the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Turkey released a statement in support of the strikes, and has offered to mediate between the two sides squaring off on Syria, being allied with both NATO and Russia.  Turkish officials have said the attacks were “appropriate” and that they were given advance warning, according to the Reuters news agency.

Arab leaders are meeting in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, and Syria is among the topics they are planning to discuss.  Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a virtual victory lap, tweeting, “Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”
…

A new U.N. report for the first time puts Myanmar’s armed forces on a U.N. blacklist of government and rebel groups “credibly suspected” of carrying out rapes and other acts of sexual violence in conflict.

An advance copy of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ report to the Security Council, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, says international medical staff and others in Bangladesh have documented that many of the almost 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled from Myanmar “bear the physical and psychological scars of brutal sexual assault.”

The U.N. chief said the assaults were allegedly perpetrated by the Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw, “at times acting in concert with local militias, in the course of military ‘clearance’ operations in October 2016 and August 2017.”

“The widespread threat and use of sexual violence was integral to this strategy, serving to humiliate, terrorize and collectively punish the Rohingya community, as a calculated tool to force them to flee their homelands and prevent their return,” Guterres said.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar doesn’t recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic group, insisting they are Bengali migrants from Bangladesh living illegally in the country. It has denied them citizenship, leaving them stateless.

​Recent wave of violence

The recent spasm of violence began when Rohingya insurgents launched a series of attacks last Aug. 25 on about 30 security outposts and other targets. Myanmar security forces then began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages that the U.N. and human rights groups have called a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

“Violence was visited upon women, including pregnant women, who are seen as custodians and propagators of ethnic identity, as well as on young children, who represent the future of the group,” Guterres said. “This can be linked to an inflammatory narrative alleging that high fertility rates among the Rohingya represent an existential threat to the majority population.”

​Governments and extremists

The report, which will be a focus of a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday on preventing sexual violence in conflict, puts 51 government, rebel and extremist groups on the list.

They include 17 from Congo including the armed forces and national police, seven from Syria including the armed forces and intelligence services, six each from Central African Republic and South Sudan, five from Mali, four from Somalia, three from Sudan, one each from Iraq and Myanmar, and Boko Haram which operates in several countries.

“As a general trend,” Guterres said, “the rise or resurgence of conflict and violent extremism, with its ensuing proliferation of arms, mass displacement, and collapsed rule of law, triggers patterns of sexual violence.”

This was evident in many places in 2017 as insecurity spread to new regions in Central African Republic, violence surged in eastern and central Congo, conflict engulfed South Sudan, violence wracked Syria and Yemen, and “ethnic cleansing in the guise of clearance operations unfolded in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar,” he said.

Guterres said most victims are “politically and economically marginalized women and girls” concentrated in remote, rural areas with the least access to services that can help them, and in refugee camps and areas for the displaced.

The year 2017 “also saw sexual violence continue to be employed as a tactic of war, terrorism, torture and repression,” he said, citing conflicts in CAR, Congo, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan as examples of “this alarming trend.”

Guterres said sexual violence continues to serve as a “push factor” for forced displacement in places such as Colombia, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and Syria. And he said it remained “a heightened risk in transit, refugee and displacement settings.”

Impact lasts generations

The secretary-general said the effects of sexual violence can impact generations as a result of trauma, stigma, poverty, poor health and unwanted pregnancy.

In South Sudan, for instance, Guterres said sexual violence is so prevalent that a Commission of Inquiry described women and girls as “collectively traumatized.” He said children born of this violence have been labeled “bad blood” or “children of the enemy” and warned that this vulnerability “may leave them susceptible to recruitment, radicalization and trafficking.”

Guterres said many women, including Rohingya refugees, are reluctant to return to locations they fled where forces including alleged perpetrators remain in control.

“Colombia is the only country in which children conceived through wartime rape are legally recognized as victims, though it has been difficult for them to access redress without being stigmatized,” he said.

The secretary-general lamented that “most incidents of mass rape continue to be met with mass impunity.”

For example, Guterres said, not a single member of the Islamic State extremist group or Boko Haram “has been prosecuted for sexual violence offenses to date.”

 
…

A new U.N. report for the first time puts Myanmar’s armed forces on a U.N. blacklist of government and rebel groups “credibly suspected” of carrying out rapes and other acts of sexual violence in conflict.

An advance copy of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ report to the Security Council, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, says international medical staff and others in Bangladesh have documented that many of the almost 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled from Myanmar “bear the physical and psychological scars of brutal sexual assault.”

The U.N. chief said the assaults were allegedly perpetrated by the Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw, “at times acting in concert with local militias, in the course of military ‘clearance’ operations in October 2016 and August 2017.”

“The widespread threat and use of sexual violence was integral to this strategy, serving to humiliate, terrorize and collectively punish the Rohingya community, as a calculated tool to force them to flee their homelands and prevent their return,” Guterres said.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar doesn’t recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic group, insisting they are Bengali migrants from Bangladesh living illegally in the country. It has denied them citizenship, leaving them stateless.

​Recent wave of violence

The recent spasm of violence began when Rohingya insurgents launched a series of attacks last Aug. 25 on about 30 security outposts and other targets. Myanmar security forces then began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages that the U.N. and human rights groups have called a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

“Violence was visited upon women, including pregnant women, who are seen as custodians and propagators of ethnic identity, as well as on young children, who represent the future of the group,” Guterres said. “This can be linked to an inflammatory narrative alleging that high fertility rates among the Rohingya represent an existential threat to the majority population.”

​Governments and extremists

The report, which will be a focus of a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday on preventing sexual violence in conflict, puts 51 government, rebel and extremist groups on the list.

They include 17 from Congo including the armed forces and national police, seven from Syria including the armed forces and intelligence services, six each from Central African Republic and South Sudan, five from Mali, four from Somalia, three from Sudan, one each from Iraq and Myanmar, and Boko Haram which operates in several countries.

“As a general trend,” Guterres said, “the rise or resurgence of conflict and violent extremism, with its ensuing proliferation of arms, mass displacement, and collapsed rule of law, triggers patterns of sexual violence.”

This was evident in many places in 2017 as insecurity spread to new regions in Central African Republic, violence surged in eastern and central Congo, conflict engulfed South Sudan, violence wracked Syria and Yemen, and “ethnic cleansing in the guise of clearance operations unfolded in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar,” he said.

Guterres said most victims are “politically and economically marginalized women and girls” concentrated in remote, rural areas with the least access to services that can help them, and in refugee camps and areas for the displaced.

The year 2017 “also saw sexual violence continue to be employed as a tactic of war, terrorism, torture and repression,” he said, citing conflicts in CAR, Congo, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan as examples of “this alarming trend.”

Guterres said sexual violence continues to serve as a “push factor” for forced displacement in places such as Colombia, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and Syria. And he said it remained “a heightened risk in transit, refugee and displacement settings.”

Impact lasts generations

The secretary-general said the effects of sexual violence can impact generations as a result of trauma, stigma, poverty, poor health and unwanted pregnancy.

In South Sudan, for instance, Guterres said sexual violence is so prevalent that a Commission of Inquiry described women and girls as “collectively traumatized.” He said children born of this violence have been labeled “bad blood” or “children of the enemy” and warned that this vulnerability “may leave them susceptible to recruitment, radicalization and trafficking.”

Guterres said many women, including Rohingya refugees, are reluctant to return to locations they fled where forces including alleged perpetrators remain in control.

“Colombia is the only country in which children conceived through wartime rape are legally recognized as victims, though it has been difficult for them to access redress without being stigmatized,” he said.

The secretary-general lamented that “most incidents of mass rape continue to be met with mass impunity.”

For example, Guterres said, not a single member of the Islamic State extremist group or Boko Haram “has been prosecuted for sexual violence offenses to date.”

 
…

U.S. officials are expressing “high confidence” that Syria carried out last week’s chemical weapons attack in Douma, promising the West will respond and that all options remain on the table.

Despite tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week suggesting a missile strike might be imminent, the White House, State Department and Pentagon have been cautious in their language, emphasizing the need to forge an airtight case against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

By late Friday, there were indications such a case was coming together.

“We have a very high confidence that Syria was responsible,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at a briefing.

“We also hold Russia responsible for their failure to stop chemical weapons attacks from taking place,” Sanders added. “Russia’s failure to stop them and their continued [inaction] on this front has been part of the problem.”

The State Department went one step further, claiming the U.S. now had definitive proof.

“We can say that the Syrian government was behind this attack,” said spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

“We know that this was a chemical weapon that was used in Syria,” Nauert said. “The kind or the mix — that we are still looking into.”

A ‘chess game’

Despite such confidence, other U.S. officials remained wary, warning that while Syria’s use of chemical weapons could not be tolerated, much more was at stake, given the backing it gets from Moscow.

“This is a chess game and the Russians are ratcheting up the pressure,” a U.S. official told VOA on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the situation.

“They’re playing dirty,” the official added. “We need to think two or three steps ahead.”

Complicating any U.S. response is the presence of Russian and Iranian forces on the ground in Syria. One official said those foreign detachments had “grown and matured” since the U.S. carried out airstrikes against the Syrian government last April after a sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun.

“We’re trying to stop the murder of innocent people,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday. But on a strategic level, he said, the question is “how do we keep this from escalating out of control — if you get my drift on that.”

Russia, long an ally of Assad, has warned that a military conflict could erupt if the U.S. and its Western allies take action in Syria.

“We hope that … the U.S. and their allies will refrain from military action against a sovereign state,” Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia said Friday.

“We cannot exclude any possibilities, unfortunately, because we saw messages coming from Washington. They were very bellicose,” he added.

Russia: Britain staged attack

Also Friday, Moscow alleged it had “proof that testifies to the direct participation of Britain” in staging the chemical attack in Douma.

Britain pressured the White Helmets, volunteers and activists who serve as first responders in rebel-held areas, to stage the attack, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Britain called the allegation a “blatant lie,” while White House spokeswoman Sanders said, “Certainly our intelligence tells us otherwise.”

Inspectors from an international chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, are set to begin collecting samples from Douma on Saturday.

But the group said that while it could possibly determine what types of chemicals were used in the attack, it would not be able to assign responsibility.

VOA’s Steve Herman at the White House and Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
…

U.S. officials are expressing “high confidence” that Syria carried out last week’s chemical weapons attack in Douma, promising the West will respond and that all options remain on the table.

Despite tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week suggesting a missile strike might be imminent, the White House, State Department and Pentagon have been cautious in their language, emphasizing the need to forge an airtight case against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

By late Friday, there were indications such a case was coming together.

“We have a very high confidence that Syria was responsible,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at a briefing.

“We also hold Russia responsible for their failure to stop chemical weapons attacks from taking place,” Sanders added. “Russia’s failure to stop them and their continued [inaction] on this front has been part of the problem.”

The State Department went one step further, claiming the U.S. now had definitive proof.

“We can say that the Syrian government was behind this attack,” said spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

“We know that this was a chemical weapon that was used in Syria,” Nauert said. “The kind or the mix — that we are still looking into.”

A ‘chess game’

Despite such confidence, other U.S. officials remained wary, warning that while Syria’s use of chemical weapons could not be tolerated, much more was at stake, given the backing it gets from Moscow.

“This is a chess game and the Russians are ratcheting up the pressure,” a U.S. official told VOA on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the situation.

“They’re playing dirty,” the official added. “We need to think two or three steps ahead.”

Complicating any U.S. response is the presence of Russian and Iranian forces on the ground in Syria. One official said those foreign detachments had “grown and matured” since the U.S. carried out airstrikes against the Syrian government last April after a sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun.

“We’re trying to stop the murder of innocent people,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday. But on a strategic level, he said, the question is “how do we keep this from escalating out of control — if you get my drift on that.”

Russia, long an ally of Assad, has warned that a military conflict could erupt if the U.S. and its Western allies take action in Syria.

“We hope that … the U.S. and their allies will refrain from military action against a sovereign state,” Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia said Friday.

“We cannot exclude any possibilities, unfortunately, because we saw messages coming from Washington. They were very bellicose,” he added.

Russia: Britain staged attack

Also Friday, Moscow alleged it had “proof that testifies to the direct participation of Britain” in staging the chemical attack in Douma.

Britain pressured the White Helmets, volunteers and activists who serve as first responders in rebel-held areas, to stage the attack, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Britain called the allegation a “blatant lie,” while White House spokeswoman Sanders said, “Certainly our intelligence tells us otherwise.”

Inspectors from an international chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, are set to begin collecting samples from Douma on Saturday.

But the group said that while it could possibly determine what types of chemicals were used in the attack, it would not be able to assign responsibility.

VOA’s Steve Herman at the White House and Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
…

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation rose 53.5 percent to $8.9 million in 2017, a regulatory filing showed Friday, largely because of higher costs related to the 33-year old billionaire’s personal security.

About 83 percent of the compensation represented security-related expenses, while much of the rest was tied to Zuckerberg’s personal usage of private aircraft.

Zuckerberg’s security expenses climbed to $7.3 million in 2017, compared with $4.9 million a year earlier.

His base salary was unchanged at $1, while his total voting power at Facebook rose marginally to 59.9 percent.

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook, which has consistently reported stronger-than-expected earnings over the past two years, has faced public outcry over its role in Russia’s alleged influence over the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Earlier this week, Zuckerberg emerged largely unscathed after facing hours of questioning from U.S. lawmakers on how the personal information of several million Facebook users may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
…

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation rose 53.5 percent to $8.9 million in 2017, a regulatory filing showed Friday, largely because of higher costs related to the 33-year old billionaire’s personal security.

About 83 percent of the compensation represented security-related expenses, while much of the rest was tied to Zuckerberg’s personal usage of private aircraft.

Zuckerberg’s security expenses climbed to $7.3 million in 2017, compared with $4.9 million a year earlier.

His base salary was unchanged at $1, while his total voting power at Facebook rose marginally to 59.9 percent.

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook, which has consistently reported stronger-than-expected earnings over the past two years, has faced public outcry over its role in Russia’s alleged influence over the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Earlier this week, Zuckerberg emerged largely unscathed after facing hours of questioning from U.S. lawmakers on how the personal information of several million Facebook users may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
…

In the springtime, the Tidal Basin in Washington is known for having a spectacular display of cherry blossoms. But in a quiet neighborhood in Maryland, just outside Washington, more than 1,000 cherry trees also put on quite a show. VOA’s Deborah Block takes us to Chevy Chase, Maryland, where the breathtaking canopy of flowers attracts visitors from around the world.
…